Rakesh Roshan says India should resume film export to Pakistan

Kaabil became the first Indian film to screen in Pakistan since the informal ban on Bollywood was enforced in late September, and the film's producer Rakesh Roshan appears to be most pleased.

In conversation with IANS, he said that since Pakistan is now welcome to Indian content, Indians also must move up:

"All I want to say is that if Pakistan has opened their arms, we should also move forward."

His statement is a reference to a reluctance on Indian distributors' part to export films to India.

In an interview with Dawn in late December, Pakistani film distributor/exhibitor Nadeem Mandviwala had said that the resumption of Indian films screening "can take days, weeks and even months" because Indian distributors have to first agree to sell films to Pakistan. He shared that "a debate has [already] begun in India about it."

Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, which starred Fawad Khan in an extended cameo role and released in October 28, is the next Bollywood film to join Kaabil on Pakistani screens. Shah Rukh Khan's Raees has also been obtained from India, but the exact date of its screening is unclear at this point.